Dutch Samadhi Hello, I'm an inhabitant of the beautiful province of Groningen, Zoutkamp, the Netherlands. We've had a tv shootings of some kind in the harbour or dock (I don't know what the name is in English). The provincial tv-station aired a short item on the tv-shootings. Initially a local told it was shootings for the american version of the mole, but since the item on the local tv-station showed two names, namely Ericka & Brian I searched the internet and found two contestants for The Amazing Grace 15 named like that. A former Miss Amerca and her husband. I didn't recognize anyone, but there were teams of two people. They had to bycicle from a town called vierhuizen (you can use Googlemaps) to our town Zoutkamp. They wore traditional clothes from Volendam and bycicled to the harbour where they talked to someone on a boat and after that they went on to dance traditionally or they had to do farmers golf a traditional Groninger sport. I'm saying this to make sure that people will know it was not Volendam that was portraited, but our beautiful small vilage groningen. Please make sure people will know this in America.

FOUR HOUSES - the kerkje van Vierhuizen thanks to tv-opnames have been boasted. The mill in the village seems the same destiny undergo. An American film plough has made Thursday prerecordings for a large game show. The game show is similar with the Dutch programme ' Beijing Express'. A camera plough follows teams and films their activities. According to the voluntary millers of four houses went everything in a typical American manner: with much poeha, expensive auto' s and it was even filmed there from a helicopter.

Apparently, riding the bike isn't the only thing they have to do with the shoes: Boerengolf (Farmer's golf) (video here, complete with bovine gallery ).The database lists only one windmill for vierhuizen, so that's got to be it.

1-20 Guy laughs (voice over) The three voluntary windmillers can 20-25 laugh about it: An American tv-crew that came to Vierhuizen. 25-30 Now and then they get a glimpse of them. 30-35 (guy in dialect) Just like the tour the France with a camera on the motor. 35-40 (again dialect)Yes, well, Shall we have coffee. 40-45 (inside the mill) well it is a program that eeh 45-51 must film the activities of the participants 51-56 and of those shootings they make a program 56-1:00 (interviewer) What's your opinion about it all (guy) I find it a bit 1:00-1:05 typically American (other guy) with a lot of, of 1:05-1:10 with a lot of (nonsense word) kokeloko (other guy) with a lot of bombarie (probably: Bolster) (guy interviewed repeats) 1:10-1:15 everything is taken care of precisely (overvoice) But what exactly is going on 1:15-1:20 nobody is talking about, but the windmillers don't care a lot about that 1:20-1:26 Their job is clear: to keep the windmill running and that they do with a lot of concentration 1:26-1:31 (guy at the windmill) We can see a (bui) bad weather coming, but I think, Arie, we will just miss it 1:31-1:35 (outside on the windmill) He could go a little further because the wind is better there (they use the phrase “ten opzichte” which is more like according)1:35-1:41 (voice over) after asking questions without camera's we found out that it is a Peking Express like program 1:41-1:46 Six teams have to fulfill tasks as soon as possible 1:46-1:52 That they don't put their hands on their wallets shows when we see a helicopter flying over to take shots 1:52-1:56 (guy on the windmill) Isn't it horrible to have a helicopter here 1:56-2:02 All that for just a few minutes in a game show 2:03-2:13 Aah, but we like to do it, just another fling (verzetje)

peach and I have notes from Dutch Samadhi all over the place, we're going to try to pull them together ..Originally we had no clear photos of Meghan and Cheyne so Dutch could have mistaken them for Mika and Canaan who we thought were the so called Brooks at the time and did have a clear photo of them thanks to Chateau.

here are some tidbits ..

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I saw team red (Probably), The globetrotters, and the brooks couple. I've heard that there was a male gay couple. So I can safely say that there were at least four couples, but I've had a few sources saying that they knew that there were six couples.

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Yes, I saw a blond girl and a husband, I saw two guys, They were the first to come. ( I assume Dan & Sam )Then came the blond girl with a guy and after that came the basketballers. The girl I saw was not as short and she looked as if she could be dutch. She was also attractive.I've heard that there was a gay couple (two guys)I have sources that tell me as well that there were six teams. So that must be true. I've heard sources say that they heard (near the place where it happened) that the contestants came from the airport straight from Dubai

And of course thanks to the video that Boingo found, we know Tiffany&Maria, Matt&Gary, and Brian&Ericka are there as well.

Okay, Dutch was a HUGE help and more than accomodating in answering a LOT of questions, lol.

This is all from a series of emails we exchanged, some is duplicated elsewhere in the threads... (Some personal identifying info has been omitted.)

A little piecemeal but here we go:

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I've heard sources say that they heard (near the place where it happened) that the contestants came from the airport straight from Dubai.

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There is a dancing group in Zoutkamp. This group dances Volksdansen (Dances for the people (bad translation)). They were told very little, but they knew they had to dance on July the 30th. On Tuesday they heard that there would be camera's on Thursday July the 30th.

On July the 29 I walked through our harbor with my dog and saw people drinking coffee who normally wouldn't be there. Since I heard about the camera's I've deducted that they could be the cameramen I've heard people talk about. There were a lot of busses that were rented in Amsterdam, because they had 020- telephone numbers (this makes the schiphol route plausible). This triggered my interest, so I decided to return to the harbor the next morning. When I left my house there was a helicopter flying above the village. .......

I decided to see what would happen and made me a pot of coffee and chose a nice spot to sit and watch what would happen. There was a camera on a pole which filmed everything that happened.

Then I've heard other people say things about the spectacle and I've deducted that they probably took this route on bicycle (the road that seems to go straight to Zoutkamp is a dyke):

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When they reached this point they stepped of their bycicle and followed the following route

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At the end point they had to do a brainteaser of some kind, because they stayed there for a while.

After this they bicycled to a local camping where they had to dance or do Farmersgolf.

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The last picture can be a bit off, because I have only heard about this and have no firm source, but the dance plateau could be seen from the other side of the river (bagger(ed) (dutch:baggeren ) so much it looks like a canal) and I've heard about the farmersgolf from people inside the campsite, but nobody actually saw it.

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They were wearing traditional clothing from Volendam. ... Finally somebody came to film our beautiful village and then people would probably be told that it was Volendam. ... We could easily go through for Volendam, because we are a fisherman's village and there are fishing boats around and because on the other side of the village there is a piece of the sea we partially poldered and which turned from salt water into sweet.

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Yes, I saw a blond girl and a husband, I saw two guys, They were the first to come. Then came the blond girl with a guy and after that came the basketballers. I've heard that there was a gay couple (two guys)

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I saw a male couple, the Brooks couple (peach--this is probably not accurate...this is who we were calling Mika and Canaan at the time , and had no photos of Meghan) , the basketballers and heard people say there was a male gay couple. I've heard there were six couples left. The following is not sure, but I think I can remember somebody told me there was a Asian female.

Comparing heights between racers later identified as Mika and Meghan:

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The girl I saw was not as short and she looked as if she could be dutch. She was also attractive.

Oh, feet don't say a thing to me. We use the metric system. But if 5 feet is short then it was not her. She was taller, attractive, I think blue eyed and attractively thin.

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There is a provincial television station that tries to follow everything that happens in Groningen. This station is called Radio Television Noord (North). They were probably tipped about the happening and decided not to invest a lot of time in it, because of the harsh rules. We were in the harbour and we were not allowed to take pictures, so they would have been told this as well.

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I must say that I've said about all that can be said and that people are not talking about it anymore. There were not a lot of people who saw what happened. There were also a lot that didn't know about it. so I've heard about it through 7 people of whom none had exact info. And the people of the local dance group don't want to talk. Could be that they had to sign some sort of contract as well. I was told that the local campsite holder in Vierhuizen was forbidden to say anything about it otherwise he would have to pay 20.000.000,00.

Video translation:

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1-20 Guy laughs (voice over) The three voluntary windmillers can 20-25 laugh about it: An American tv-crew that came to Vierhuizen. 25-30 Now and then they get a glimpse of them. 30-35 (guy in dialect) Just like the tour the France with a camera on the motor. 35-40 (again dialect)Yes, well, Shall we have coffee. 40-45 (inside the mill) well it is a program that eeh 45-51 must film the activities of the participants 51-56 and of those shootings they make a program 56-1:00 (interviewer) What's your opinion about it all (guy) I find it a bit 1:00-1:05 typically American (other guy) with a lot of, of 1:05-1:10 with a lot of (nonsense word) kokeloko (other guy) with a lot of bombarie (probably: Bolster) (guy interviewed repeats) 1:10-1:15 everything is taken care of precisely (overvoice) But what exactly is going on 1:15-1:20 nobody is talking about, but the windmillers don't care a lot about that 1:20-1:26 Their job is clear: to keep the windmill running and that they do with a lot of concentration 1:26-1:31 (guy at the windmill) We can see a (bui) bad weather coming, but I think, Arie, we will just miss it 1:31-1:35 (outside on the windmill) He could go a little further because the wind is better there (they use the phrase “ten opzichte” which is more like according) 1:35-1:41 (voice over) after asking questions without camera's we found out that it is a Peking Express like program 1:41-1:46 Six teams have to fulfill tasks as soon as possible 1:46-1:52 That they don't put their hands on their wallets shows when we see a helicopter flying over to take shots 1:52-1:56 (guy on the windmill) Isn't it horrible to have a helicopter here 1:56-2:02 All that for just a few minutes in a game show 2:03-2:13 Aah, but we like to do it, just another fling (verzetje)

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I have sources that tell me as well that there were six teams. So that must be true.

« Last Edit: October 22, 2009, 11:38:47 PM by georgiapeach »

Logged

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

I'm going to say the teams flew to Amsterdam and then made their way to Groningen. Ditto when flying to Stockholm.

Hoping that this leg will be in "classic TAR-style," travelling through much of the country (Example: Switzerland w/ cheese wheels). In contrast, all of the legs this season have stayed in one city. Wishing for more self driving/train-riding too!

I also predict that this leg is a NEL in which the poker girls are last, setting up their eventual elimination at the hands of the haybales in Sweden.

I saw team red (Probably), The globetrotters, and the brooks couple. I've heard that there was a male gay couple. So I can safely say that there were at least four couples, but I've had a few sources saying that they knew that there were six couples.

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Yes, I saw a blond girl and a husband, I saw two guys, They were the first to come. ( I assume Dan & Sam )Then came the blond girl with a guy and after that came the basketballers. The girl I saw was not as short and she looked as if she could be dutch. She was also attractive.I've heard that there was a gay couple (two guys)I have sources that tell me as well that there were six teams. So that must be true. I've heard sources say that they heard (near the place where it happened) that the contestants came from the airport straight from Dubai

And of course thanks to the video that Boingo found, we know Tiffany&Maria, Matt&Gary, and Brian&Ericka are there as well.

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I didn't catch this earlier, but didn't Sam and Dan say they were going to keep being gay a secret to allow them to flirt with and form alliances with the Poker Girls or the other women? Yet apparently their being gay was known to the locals in the Netherlands. Interesting, but I'm not sure what it means, if anything.

I think it's more likely that Maria/Tiffany get eliminated this leg, rather than the next leg for logistical reasons. IIRC, they weren't seen on the ferry, so that means they would have traveled ahead to get to Tallin with production. They would have needed a day or so to get out of Race mode and get debriefed on what production wanted them to do in Tallin. I don't think they could be eliminated in Sweden and have enough time to be decoys the very next day in another country. That would suggest to me that this leg would be an elimination and not the leg in Sweden.

I think it's more likely that Maria/Tiffany get eliminated this leg, rather than the next leg for logistical reasons. IIRC, they weren't seen on the ferry, so that means they would have traveled ahead to get to Tallin with production. They would have needed a day or so to get out of Race mode and get debriefed on what production wanted them to do in Tallin. I don't think they could be eliminated in Sweden and have enough time to be decoys the very next day in another country. That would suggest to me that this leg would be an elimination and not the leg in Sweden.

the schnauzers, I seldom disagree with your judgments, but I do on this one. If Maria/Tiffany needed time to get acclimated to a decoy role (it isn't that hard and should not take long particularly for poker players who are natural actresses), the ferry ride from Sweden to Helsinki and then the short ride from Helsinki to Talinn would provide ample time for that. I believe that Maria/Tiffany got eliminated after Mika/Canaan and before Gary/Matt and Nate/Herb. That would have them finishing 6th. It could happen in either Groningen or in Stockholm, depending on how the TBC/NELs shape up.

... IIRC, they weren't seen on the ferry, so that means they would have traveled ahead to get to Tallin with production. ...

Not necessarily...they could have easily have been flown in that day, explaining the later arrival than the ferry offers.

Logged

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

Some of this is going to depend on the length of time for the pitstops. But if the Sweden pitstop is standard, then I'm more skeptical that any team could acclimate themselves out of Race mode overnight. But it's all speculation based on what is known, and we'll just have to wait for more information to come to light.

I recomend that you take another look at your TIMELINE timing for Dubai second leg until the arrival in Groningen.

The first Dubai leg appeared to end in the 10am (leading teams) to 11am (lagging teams except for Lance/Keri later) time frame. That means release from the second Dubai pit stop will be at 10pm to 11pm. This gives teams time to get to Dubai International Airport. Peach has hypothesized that the logical flight would be in the "wee hours" and maybe through Brussels. I can no longer verify that flight, but here is something interesting:

I think the flight I referenced was from Tel Aviv to Brussels, which was later determined of course to not be necessary.

So thanks! There was also some more info on flight stuff here although not sure if it is outdated?? I know we thought that perhaps steffis's spoiiler could refer to a team WAY behind, which I think changed the early thought.

I love the correlation between the cars and another route to Groningen. BUT I also know that Dutch believed the teams came directly from Dubai, and noted lots of busses there from Amsterdam on the day before the task, which could have been the production team of course.

Logged

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

"Our fans are pretty good. They don't give away too much. Sometimes people love dropping spoilers, but our fans are good. They tend to do it in such a way that doesn't ruin it for fans who don't want to know."--Phil Keoghan

I recomend that you take another look at your TIMELINE timing for Dubai second leg until the arrival in Groningen.

The first Dubai leg appeared to end in the 10am (leading teams) to 11am (lagging teams except for Lance/Keri later) time frame. That means release from the second Dubai pit stop will be at 10pm to 11pm. This gives teams time to get to Dubai International Airport.

If I may ask, how did you arrive at the 10am to 11am time range? Do these times include Meghan/Cheyne checking in as well or does that time start with Brian & Erika? It just seems to me that it would take longer than an hour for the other teams to complete the RB and Detour and they would be further behind Meg/Cheyne than an hour.Thanks!

littlewop, you correctly remind me that I overlooked the FAST FORWARD results for Cheyne/Meghan. However, it is no matter, as they would also obviously qualify for the Lufthansa early morning flight 631 Dubai to Frankfurt.

To answer your question more specifically, those times are for all the racers except Lance and Keri (I did identify them as a bit later) and Cheyne/Meghan. That means there are these 6 teams the analysis was intended to cover (although it also fits Cheyne and Meghan maybe one to two hour ahead of the others): Brian/Ericka, Nate/Herb, Gary/Matt, Sam/Dan, Maria/Tiffany, Mika/Canaan.

If teams arrive around 8am into Bremen airport, it is 52 miles to Groningen. Since getting the camera/sound equipment out of luggage and into readiness and getting those marked cars takes at least 30 minutes, team leave Bremen airport sometime after about 830am. That length of drive on the very good flat roads in that area leads to a travel time of maybe 75 minutes. So they arrive before 10am as I stated if my assumptions are correct, not between 10am and 11am as if there were delays.

david Junior, you are correct and I left out leg 7. When adjusted for that, the scenario is:1000 to 1100 - Brian/Ericka, Sam/Dan, Herb/Nate, Maria/Tiffany and Mika/Canaan finish leg 6; Cheyne/Meghan are 1 to 2 hrous ahead.

2200 to 2300 - the above groups are released for leg 7

0700 - probably start time for daylight tasks in leg 70800 - earliest time for pit stop for the group of 6

2000 - earliest time for release from pit stop for leg 8

Flights to Europe include KL428 DXB AMS 0005 0525 (actual arrival 0454 on JUly 30). All teams should have little trouble getting on this if seats were available.

I will go back and correct my earlier note when I get the opportunity.

In my world, each 1 hour episode = 1 leg. CBS reports it as my first 2 legs as only 1; so be it. My system works for me and is completely simple and understandable. If others need a translation table, then that is the way it is.

The leg tonight is leg 7. We started October 5 with leg 4 and this is the fourth episode in October. If you want to follow the CBS system and call it leg 6, that's OK with me.

In my world, each 1 hour episode = 1 leg. CBS reports it as my first 2 legs as only 1; so be it. My system works for me and is completely simple and understandable. If others need a translation table, then that is the way it is.

The leg tonight is leg 7. We started October 5 with leg 4 and this is the fourth episode in October. If you want to follow the CBS system and call it leg 6, that's OK with me.